Virtual power plant (VPP) agreement project firm SOLRITE Energy has announced the launch of its solar plus storage program in Illinois.

Under the new program, Illinoisan homeowners will receive a complete solar system, as well as a 60 kWh whole home battery, for a solar rate of 12 cents per kWh. This wattage is about four times the normal capacity of a typical home battery, and participants will pay no upfront cost and have nothing to maintain.

The expansion into Illinois marks the fifth state where SOLRITE has deployed its battery-focused VPP model. The company has had success in Texas, California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, making Illinois its first foray into the Midwest.

“Illinois families are watching their utility bills climb with no ceiling in sight, and the old solar playbook stopped working the day net metering went away,” says Regan George, CEO and founder of SOLRITE Energy. “We are giving homeowners a predictable rate, a battery big enough to keep the lights on for days instead of hours, and a system that actually supports the grid they depend on. It is a genuine win for the homeowner, for the grid, and for the investors backing this infrastructure.”

SOLRITE’s end goal aims to create a network of residential batteries that can act as a single, dispatchable energy resource for the Land of Lincoln. The result is a group of participating homes that can respond in real time to energy demands and grid strain, reducing the state’s reliance on traditional energy plants.

Perfect timing

The launch in the new state comes at a critical moment for Illinois, the company says, as the state’s residential energy sector continues to experience “acute strain.” Residential energy demand has continued to spike, causing utility bills to respond in kind.

Additionally, full retail net metering ended for new solar customers in the state at the beginning of 2025, which SOLRITE says “eroded the economics” of solar-only energy systems.

“SOLRITE’s model is built for exactly this environment,” the firm says. “Instead of exporting excess solar for a shrinking credit, the 60 kWh battery stores it, then dispatches it to the home and the grid when it is worth the most.”

The new program in Illinois is designed around the Prairie State’s current energy policy landscape, according to the company. Federal renewable energy tax credits and programs like Illinois Shines allow energy credits to accrue to SOLRITE as each system’s official “owner.” In turn, SOLRITE can feed the incentives into the battery program, keeping 60 kWh residential battery systems relatively low-priced.

“For homeowners, the benefits are immediate and concrete,” SOLRITE representatives continue. “A 12 cents per kWh solar rate that typically sits below what they pay their utility today, an annual price adjustment capped at 2.9 percent, regardless of how far retail rates rise, and whole days of backup for essential loads during an outage with no generator, no fuel, and no noise. Installation is handled by Illinois-licensed installers, and there is no equipment for the homeowner to buy, insure, or maintain.”

SOLRITE Energy’s solar and battery program is available to qualifying homeowners across both ComEd and Amaren’s Illinois service territories as of Aug. 20.

Tags: Amaren, ComEd, home storage, Illinois, Residential Solar, SOLRITE Energy, VPP